Shoe



March 3, 1936.

C. M. RIDDOCK SHOE Filed May 26, 1931 2 Sheets$heet l March 3, 1936. c M RmDOCK 2,032,665

SHOE

Filed May 26, 1931 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y l Taiaj Patented Mar. 3, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIE 3 Claims.

My present invention relates to an improved shoe and more particularly to a shoe which has very novel and cheap construction features in combination with an attractive design.

Heretofore there have been several attempts to produce a shoe which could be made of a less expensive material and further comprise greater simplicity in the manufacture thereof. Stitching is of primary importance in all shoe manufacturing processes and of course increases the unit cost of a shoe due to the expense of machines required to do this work.

In my present invention, I have produced a shoe upper which can be very cheaply made of a fabric material which is characterized by a very novel design both in the arrangements of the upper elements and in coloring effects incorporated in these elements. Moreover I have practically eliminated stitching from the shoe construction except at one point which is of a very simple nature and may be dispensed with entirely. I have further provided for the intimate association of this upper with a welt sole and outer sole in a very particular manner, making use of a center plate and vulcanizing apparatus to this end whereby a new and very strong shoe construction is produced.

The principal object of my invention is therefore an improved shoe.

Another object is a shoe upper having novel coloring effects and design.

Another object is a shoe sole construction comprising the use of. a center plate member for the formation of an inner raised portion or rand on the outer sole of said shoe.

Still another object is the association of a welt sole member with the above cited rand formation for the purpose of producing a very strong sole construction.

Other objects and novel features comprising the construction and operation of my invention will appear as the description of the same progresses.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of my invention:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of an inner sole showing 'strap members attached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the inner sole reversed 'showing said sole attached to a fabric surface by some convenient means such as stitching.

Fig. 3 is a typical vertical central section taken longitudinally of the shoe during a step in its manufacture.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the shoe completely assembled.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the shoe assembled.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the toe of I the shoe showing the location and manner of securing the fore straps with strap I I not having been assembled.

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary rear elevation showing the attachment of straps I5 and I1 before assembling strap l6.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, III indicates an inner sole member shown bottom side up in Fig. 1 and comprising a fabric material coated on the bottom side with a rubber film. Attached to the coated side of the inner sole member with a rubber cement are a number of strap members of a thicker fabric material which are later arranged to form the shoe upper. These straps comprise in detail, first the members I2 and I9 having one of each of their extremities obliquely disposed on the bottom of said inner sole at the toe portion and the member I I having one extremity located above them as shown in Fig. 1. In a similar manner the members I5 and I! are next obliquely located on the heel portion of the inner sole and a third heel strap I6 is located on the insole, a portion of whose engaging extremity might impinge upon the members I5 and I! under certain conditions of. proportion between the size of the inner sole and the width of the strap members altho not necessarily so as is shown in Fig. 1.

Adjacent the points of attachment of the members I2 and I 9 on the inner sole are secured two more strap members I3 and I8, strap I3 being disposed with a turn and having both extremities adjacently engaged on the under side of the inner sole along its outer edge and similarly strap I8 being disposed with a turn and having both extremities adjacently engaged on the under side of the inner sole along its inner edge. To the rear of the straps I3 and III are secured the extremities of another strap member I4, each extremity being secured to the under face of the inner sole but on opposite edges of the inner sole. The member I4 is designed to form a rear support element and is contained within the member I6 before the latter is permanently looped over and secured. as later described. An exact account of the manner of uniting the shoe upper will be detailed further on in the specification.

Located below the inner sole and contacting with the strap extremities already described is now stitched another fabric material 20, the stitching being indicated by numeral 32, which is impregnated on its upper side with a rubber film and this fabric is considerably larger in area than the inner sole. This member is adapted to act as a welt sole 20 for the shoe and the rubber surface may be of any desired color so that the appearance of the shoe is made more novel by being provided with a colored welt. It is to be noted that the rubber surfaces or faces of the inner sole and welt member are adjacent each other to the effect that when later ,vulcanization under pressure is applied these members are merged together in a solid manner so that the stitching above specified in the shoe construction is only a temporary holding means.

In order to describe the outer sole construction of the shoe, it will be necessary to mention certain mechanical members utilized which are thought to be new in the trade. Briefly the result effected is that a rand or inner raised portion is formed on the upper side of the outer sole upon which is mounted the united welt sole and inner sole with an outlying portion of the welt sole. member extending down the rim of the rand and out to the normal edge of the outer sole where it is trimmed off. The most important element in this construction is a center plate member 30 having a rectangular perimeter and an inner opening coincident with the size and shape of the inner sole ID. The plate is next placed upon the inner sole and the straps and inner sole are drawn up through the opening therein designated as 3| as shown in Fig. 2, leaving the edges of the opening contacting with the welt sole 20 adjacent the fastened portion of said sole as shown in Fig. 3. The rand above specified is formed when the center plate 30 is subjected to the action of a die as shown in Fig. 3. This die comprises a lower die member 35 and an upper die member 36. The lower die member '35 is recessed in a manner adapted to conform an outer sole placed therein with a heel member 22, into a conventional sole shape. The heel portion of the outer sole 2| may be formed as one solid piece or the additional member 22 may be inserted. The outer sole 2| takes its place in the lower die member 35 and the plate 30 as adjusted over the. welt member is now mounted on the sole with the welt member directly contacting with the outer sole and extending beyond it. A felt member 31 is positioned upon the upper side of the inner sole l0 which is intended to prevent any possibility of the upper die 36 pinching the outwardly extending strap -member extremities between the lower surface of the upper die 36 and the edge of the opening 3| in the center plate 30 and cutting into the strap extremities. The upper die member 36 is mounted directly upon this felt member 31 and heat and pressure are applied to effect vulcanization of the outer sole, the welt sole, the strap member extremities and the inner sole into one solidified mass.

When such an action is completed, there have been effected several readjustments in the shoe sole construction which may now be pointed out as they materially strengthen the shoe construction. The action of the plate 30 results in the outer edge of the outer sole being depressed while that portion of the. outer sole located below the opening in the center plate 30 is slightly pressed upward to the effect that an inner raised portion or so called rand is formed on the upper side of the outer sole, and the welt sole member being disposed between the plate and the outer sole is conformed and vulcanized to the shape of the rand providing a very strong bond between the welt sole and the outer sole.

Another adjustment which takes place is the surrounding of the strap extremities engaging with the bottom of the inner sole by the upwardly pressed rand formation to the effect that the welt sole and the engaging strap extremities become embedded in the said rand thereby providing much stronger construction for both the welt sole at its area of contact with the inner sole l0 and the lodgement of the engaging strap extremities therebetween. The finalresult is that the inner sole, the engaging strap extremities, the welt sole and the outer sole are solidly vulcanized together with the added feature that the various elements are so interlaced with one another that much greater wearing strength is obtained.

When vulcanization is completed, the upper die member 36 is removed, the felt member 31 withdrawn from the inner sole and the shoe lifted out of the lower die member 35. It is necessary at this time to trim the welt sole 20 to coincide with the edge of the outer sole, this is done and the center plate 30 is then stripped up o'ver the upper straps after which the shoe is ready for the assembly of its upper. Some matter has already been indicated on the construction of the shoe upper and additional details are now cited. Straps I2 and I9 are brought together and their ends are fastened butt to butt as shown in Fig. 6 with some form of sewing or stitching being employed as a means of temporary fastening. The strap II is then passed over and under this junction forming the loop 24 and is permanently fastened by cementing. In the same manner straps l5 and I! are joined together as shown in Fig. 7 with the strap l6 next being passed over the point of adjoinment and over the strap I4 doubled back and cemented, forming the loop 25. The location of the straps l3 and I8 has already been described and when they are lifted upward into a working position, the loops 26 and 21 are formed. Likewise the strap l4 when in an erect position provided the loops 28 and 29. A cord or lacing 23 passes through the loop 29, across to loop 26, down to loop 24, returns through loop 21, and finally passes across through the loop 28. When tension is exerted upon the two ends of the lacing 23, the strap members are brought into position and held to form the shoe upper as shown in Figs.

4 and 5.

' While I have shown a particular form of shoe upper in this shoe as well as other particular elements incorporated therein, it is to be understood that various modifications in the entire construction may be resorted to while still continuing to adhere to the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:-

1. An improved shoe comprising in combination an inner sole, strap members attached under said inner sole, a fabric material comprising a welt sole attached below said straps, an outer sole and heel member attached below said welt sole, said strap members being adapted to form a shoe upper, said outer sole being provided with an inner raised portion symmetrically formed with respect to said inner sole contour, the said welt sdle conforming to the entire upper surface of the said outer sole and adapted to surround said engaging strap extremities and be solidly merged against said inner sole. 1

2.'An improved shoe comprising an outer sole, an inner raised portion formed on the upper side of the said outer sole, a welt sole member compressed over the entire upper side of the said outer sole, an inner sole member mounted on the raised portion of the welt sole member and coincident in shape therewith, strap members adapted to form a shoe upper and having engaging portions embedded between the said inner sole and the said welt sole member, the said strap members comprising a toe strap and fore straps located at either side of the said toe strap adapted to form a toe portion of the shoe upper, the said fore straps adapted to be united at their outer extremities, the said toe strap adapted to be passed over and under, and secured to the junction of the said forestraps forming a loop portion thereby, a. heel strap and members located at each side thereof adapted to similarly comprise and form a heel portion of the said sho'e upper, a vamp member having its extremities secured at the inner side of the said inner sole and slightly ahead of the shank in a manner adapted to form a loop portion, a vamp member similarly disposed and secured at the outer side of said inner sole member, a combination instep and supporting strap engaging through the loop formed by the said heel strap and having its extremities secured at opposite sides of the shank portion of the said inner sole.

3. An improved shoe comprising in combination an inner sole, engaging strap members adapted to form a shoe upper, a fabric welt sole member and an outer sole and heel unit, said outer sole and heel unit provided with a randed upper surface, said fabric member conformed completely to said randed upper surface, the engaging extremities of the said strap members embedded in and adapted to embed said adjacent fabric portions in the randed portion of the said upper surface of the outer sole and heel unit, said inner sole adapted to seat evenly on said engaging strap extremities and adjoining fabric surface.

CHARLES M. RIDDOCK. 

